In 1788, fifty six year old George Washington, was chosen to be the first president of the United States of America. Washington never really ran for president. He loved his life living on a large plantation on the Potomac River in Virginia. America loved him, he was the most popular man in the U.S. After the war, Washington was really home sick and just wanted to stay home, but America had other plans for him. When the votes were tallied Washington got all sixty nine votes, which made him president. After he got elected he went to New York City and took his places as head of government. While George Washington was president he faced many challenges with economics, foreign policy, and formation of political parties. While George Washington …show more content…
There were 2 different political parties back then; the Federalist and Democratic/Republican. Washington warned that the 2 parties would divide the nation. He was scared that such a difference between the groups would weaken the county. Many politicians had different thoughts on what should happened and that affected Washington's decision on what show happen and when. How to interpret the constitution was another problem for the formation of political parties and also for Washington. Since Washington had no past use of a constitution it made it difficult for him to run the nation. Washington was arguing with Thomas Jefferson whether the constitution should have strict or loose interpretation. George Washington believed in loose interpretation which meant he had a wide view of actions, giving more action to the federal government. George Washington said the quote in his farewell address. It was written to tell people his advice for the next president coming up into his spot. “[George Washington]... warned [the citizens] in the most solemn manner against the baneful effects [of the political parties]. The great rule of conduct for [the U.S.] in regard to foreign nations is... to have with them as little political connection as possible... [The citizens] must steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world....” (Document 6). George Washington warned the U.S. that there were destructive effects from the political parties. He also stated that in order to have great success, that the nation has to have little , to no political connection with other countries. Lastly, he says that the new nation should not have long lasting alliances with any other section of the world. He warned the U.S. that if he didn’t make the decisions that he made then their new, young nation would be unsuccessful. He always thought that if the political parties took over